WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.880 Did you know that buying the fastest, highest performance Ethernet cables on the market 00:00:04.880 --> 00:00:11.480 is probably a bad idea? The cables I'm talking about are Category 8, or just Cat 8 for short. 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:15.560 It's quite easy to buy them online, but you'll typically pay a premium for it, compared to 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:18.680 more common Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables. 00:00:18.680 --> 00:00:22.640 But that's fine, because according to Amazon listings, these cables are great for gaming 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.120 and streaming, right? 00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:31.240 Yeah, you really should take pause before dropping extra money on Cat 8 just because 00:00:31.240 --> 00:00:38.000 it's the newest, fastest thing out there. The most obvious reason is simply because there isn't really a point to Cat 8 for most 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:44.520 home users. Cat 8 tops out at 40 gigabits per second, which is seriously impressive. 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:48.880 All other things being equal, that's fast enough to download a 50 Gigabyte Steam game 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:56.040 in just 10 seconds. But the fastest home internet connection in the US right now is only 8 gigabits, and 00:00:56.040 --> 00:01:03.080 average speeds are far lower than that. You'll also need equipment at home that can actually take advantage of those higher speeds. 00:01:03.080 --> 00:01:07.360 Many computers still only come with 1 gigabit Ethernet ports, and although you can certainly 00:01:07.360 --> 00:01:12.200 buy Ethernet adapters that support higher speeds, you'll pay more and more money the 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:18.840 higher up the ladder you go. A 40 gigabit network card can set you back many hundreds of dollars, and models that 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:22.600 are available now don't even support Cat 8 Ethernet cables. 00:01:22.600 --> 00:01:27.840 They instead use a different connector called QSFP+, which is typically used with fiber 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:35.680 optic or twin axial cables. There are adapters you can use, but none of them seem to support the full 40 gig speed 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:42.240 over a standard Ethernet connection. And unless you're often moving huge amounts of data around your internal home network, 00:01:42.240 --> 00:01:45.480 you're never even going to get close to using all that bandwidth. 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:50.200 However, there's another really important reason you might not want to splurge on Cat 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:55.360 8. Category 8 cables are typically thicker and stiffer than other Ethernet cables you're 00:01:55.360 --> 00:02:00.200 probably used to. Although this sounds like it could be a good thing in terms of durability, it actually 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:05.040 makes the cables harder to bend, which means they're more difficult to route around objects. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.920 But even if you're doing a short, straight cable run, there have been a good number of 00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:14.280 anecdotal reports of Cat 8 cables not working very well with home networking equipment, 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:18.600 with users complaining of poor performance even though the cables are theoretically compatible 00:02:18.600 --> 00:02:21.800 with mainstream routers, PCs, and consoles. 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:27.080 Because the cables themselves are larger, more rigid, and require shielding. 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.400 Terminating them, that is correctly attaching a connector so you can actually plug them 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:35.080 into something, is significantly more difficult than with a more run-of-the-mill Ethernet 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.440 cable. This is obviously an issue for people buying bulk cable and terminating the cables themselves, 00:02:40.440 --> 00:02:45.400 but it's also an issue for folks who are just buying plug-and-play Cat 8 cables online. 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:50.560 A good number of quote, Cat 8 cables being marketed towards consumers for relatively 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:57.200 low prices are simply not being built to the actual Category 8 specification, meaning that 00:02:57.200 --> 00:03:01.360 problems people are reporting from trying to use them at home are likely the result 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:07.720 of fake Cat 8 cables. Whether it's because they just aren't being constructed well due to either bad termination 00:03:07.720 --> 00:03:12.680 or some other manufacturing issue, or because they're straight up mislabeled on purpose 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:17.000 as part of a scam. So what kind of cable should you be buying? 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.600 Depending on how fast you need your connection to be, and how long a cable run you need, 00:03:21.600 --> 00:03:25.720 you should be buying either Cat 5e 6 or 6a. 00:03:25.720 --> 00:03:29.600 Just have a look at this chart for details. We all love a good chart. 00:03:29.600 --> 00:03:33.320 And I love a good viewer who watches all the way to the end of the video. 00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:37.880 Good viewer! I'm sorry. If you liked that, you can like the video. 00:03:37.880 --> 00:03:43.440 If you disliked it, dislike the video. Check out our other videos, comment with video suggestions in the comments below, which is 00:03:43.440 --> 00:03:47.040 where the comments are. And don't forget to subscribe and follow. 00:03:47.040 --> 00:03:48.240 I'm a little flustered now.